


Song of the Wind

by Cora_knight_of_breath



Category: Homestuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-08
Updated: 2013-09-18
Packaged: 2017-12-26 00:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/959350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cora_knight_of_breath/pseuds/Cora_knight_of_breath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A small boy village finds himself on a quest to restore the puer heir to his throne and save his own life from being sacrificed.</p><p>[Rating and warnings may change in time]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fate

In the center city of Begirnia, people live in peace. There are nobles there, living in luxury. They know nothing of the suffering going on down below. They are only aware of the stream that cuts through their Eden, letting them live in peace and happiness. They laugh and have numerous parties, tossing crumbs to the floor heartlessly as they demand poor servants to clean them up. Mothers scrub at their floors, only able to think of how precious their job is if they are to feed their starving children.

The castle, golden in the morning white in the afternoon, and a pale blue during the night, serves as a symbol of hope for those in the outermost rings. Many die every day, and the castle tells everyone, "My savior will come one day." The castle, according to legend, is only able to be entered by those of true lineage. The lineage must involve a god's blood. As such, trolls never enter the castle. Only the royal family can. That is why, upon a royal being wed to another, a bit of the royal's blood is injected into his or her spouse so as to allow entrance. 

The outermost rings themselves are squalid and filled with beggers and gangs. The further in you go, the better the status of the city. Sadly, the main character of this story does not live in any rings. Rather, he lives outside them. Outside the rings are the worst of them all. There are fires, burgularies, thieves, and murderers. The guard never patrols unless looking for someone to make into the newest hero. One is required from each ring, and that hero is sacrificed so as to make sure the lineage of the royals stay pure.

A hero never goes willingly.

Our main character is named Jake English. He is a tan farmboy, prone to adventures. He always slouches off his duties to go adventuring, laughing as he swings through the forests surroundeding his town. His voice has learned to mock the birds, his method of walking mocks the stag, and his laugh mocks the brook. He never tires, seeming prepared for anything.

Or, so he thought.

Jake, upon turning seventeen, received from the castle a letter. This later stated that, in one cycle, Jake was to become the next Hero.

His grandmother wept, knowing her fate once her son was sacrificed. She would be sent to Home, where she would be slowly poisoned until she died. He tried soothing her, promising her safety and that he would find a way to change his fate. Unknown to his grandmother, Jake had been exploring ruins for a way to change one's fate. He had finally discovered the methods and words, and he had made his mind up to visit the ruins and change his fate the next day.

So, after his farmwork was finished, Jake bade his grandmother farewell and head off into the woods. A smile spread onto his face as he passed the various creatures. Many were the pure white of the Before Planet, which was the home of trolls. Others were collers matching the land, such as black and grey. He passed a few wolves, but the pack leader looked upon Jake with his one good eye and passed on. He knew an armed opponent when he saw one.

Jake soon arrived at an underground crypt, hidden by various leaves which he had constructed with one of the boys from the outter ring. The boy, Dirk, was already waiting for him at the entrance.

"Sup, Jake? Heard you got chosen."

Jake gave a small nod. "I promised my grandmother I'd change my fate, so as to keep her safe."

Dirk helped his friend remove the leaves. "I'll help, then. Can't let my best friend get sacrificed."

They descended the steps, passing the traps they had disarmed with ease the first few times they came down. The crypt was rather gloomy, but passing through a hidden door brought the explorer into a large temple, completely submerged in the ground. Jake headed straight to the center, pulling out a few powders and ingredients from his bag. Dirk went to a small podium, helping spread a few colored powders around it.

"Ready, Jake?" Dirk asked as he finished cover along the podium.

Jake nodded and walked to the podium, placing his hands on the blue center which was held in the center. He looked at the Alternian writings, reading it under his breath.

"Cagnhe aetf o inem no equerts fo ym ulos i egb hete. Edath esruspu iths ulos nad tyh earsf omecbe eposexd. Easpel cagnhe aetf o inem no equerts fo ym ulos i egb hete."

A light filled the room as he chanted. The stuffy air became alive with the smell of sea water, which astounded Dirk. He had never smelled the sea and found such a thing amazing. He was drowning in the scent as one would drown in the ocean. He completely forgot his friend, who began floating into the air, his hands still gripping the stone. Dirk was only aware of the golden spirals spinning around him, covering him in bright  warmth that reminded him of oranges. He loved oranges, and it made him begin to crave the golden fruit, his mouth watering.

A loud crash snapped Dirk from his dream. His eyes widened as he saw Jake on the floor, his hands bleeding profusely. Dirk rushed over, bandaging his hands with a few cloths from his bag. He gently kissed the bandaged hands, his orange eyes making the concern of the boy obvious. Were Dirk's blood human, Jake's cheeks would have turned a lovely red. Dirk was a moeden, though. Moedens were known for being especially loving and caring to those whom they considered friends.

A sound from the center of the room moved the attention of the two boys. Lying in the center was a boy clad all in blue. He sat up, rubbing his head. A hood was covreing his head and was probably as long as his body. He turned bright blue eyes towards Dirk and Jake. He smiled, crawling over. He did not seem to mind as the powders covered his bare feet and blue pants. Instead, he just kept crawling until his face was inches from Jake's.

"Uyo okwe em. Kathn uyo."

Jake looked at him with lack of understanding. He did not speak the language of puers, and it soon became obvious to the blue boy. He pressed his lips against Jake's, his hood falling to reveal bright blue hair that matched his clothes. "Kathn uyo."

Dirk seemed to understand, his orange eyes scanning over the pale boy in blue. "He says thanks." 

"How can you tell?" Jake asked.

"He is a puer. All moedens learn the puer language as children. It's part of our culture. We don't speak your language first, but rather puer. In case one should return." He smiled at the boy. "Stih si Jake English. Tyh emna si Dirk Strider. Jake English si umnah, nad i ma moeden."

The boy nodded a bit, understand. "Umnah no nerla het gaanglue fo puer?"

Dirk shook his head. "Ont ni stih dya. Ym palgisoego."

The boy shook his head. He cupped Jake's cheek, his blue eyes soft. "Nice to meet you. I am John Egbert. I am the puer heir."

"If you're the puer heir," Dirk said, "why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the castle. It's been housing humans because of no puer coming to claim it."

"I need my knight," John said simply. "I can't claim anything without him and my others followers."

"Where can we find them?" Jake asked.

John smiled softly. "Temples like this one." He trailed his hand down Jake's neck to his shoulder. "If you help me, I will grant you whatever you wish, Jake English. Just help me to recover my father's castle and rule like I am supposed to."

Jake looked at Dirk a moment before nodding. "You have my support."

"I want to help, too," Dirk said. "And I know of two others who can help our adventure. One is an aanmil, another a noble. They can provide us information that isn't gained by a human, puer, and moeden."

"I will accept all the help I can get," John said. "Kathn uyo."


	2. History Lesson

"Maniegi a lowdr efre rofm tadeh."

"Imagine a world free from death."

"Atht si herwe i eonc eldiv."

"That is where I once lived."

"I sism ym lowdr. Tsi a tanficast ecapl."

"I miss my world. Its a fantastic place."

Jake listened with interest as John spoke with Dirk translating. John insisted that the story would sound more unique in the Puer language, rather than the language Jake knew. He had a point, though. It was more elegant this way.

"Onw het lowdr si...ruelc. Ont tanficast. I sism ym lowdr. I twna tunre ot ym lowdr. Oen yad. Ro ta stela akem het lowdr i asw kowen niot tanficast sa lelw."

"Now the world is curle. Not fantastic. I miss my world. I want to return to my world. One day. Or at least make the world I was woken into fantastic as well."

Jake was completely fascinated by the boy. John had insights to cultures that even Dirk never knew of.

"You're not quite what meets the eyes either, moeden," he said with a smile. "You're only half here." He placed a gentle hand on DIrk's chest. "You're sleeping elsewhere. You're not awake yet."

Dirk ended up sending the rest of the night thinking it through. How could he only be half awake? No matter what he did, he couldn't figure out what John meant.

"Moeden live a long time, don't they?" Jake asked. "That's why humans were so desperate to get rid of them."

"Sye, but there are more than just Puer and moeden in the world. There are so many creatures you have yet to find."

Jake was beyond fascinated now. He saw before him a world of possibilities. He loved everything it held for him. Creatures unknown to everyone, worlds that no longer existed, and creatures beyond recognition. He was beyond in love with this hidden world.

"But keep your wits about you," John warned. "Puer and moeden may be the only species who do not jump to hatred towards one another and towards humans. Other species rise up to attack us three, since we're the most powerful."

"How are moeden powerful?" 

"They can live for thousands of years. Additionally, upon entering stasis they send out a half-life. This half-life lives in their place. If a half-life dies, they are reborn into the world." John smiled at Dirk. "Tell me, Dirk. Who are your parents?"

"I never knew them," Dirk admitted. His face made it clear that he was against the conversation. He kept his cool air, his orange eyes betraying nothing, but Jake knew his best friend. He knew that Dirk had already jumped to the conclusion that he was a half-life.

"Somewhere you're sleeping," John said. "If we find that version of you, we can wake him. After all, moedens send out half-lives as defense. That way they can be saved from sleep. They hate it."

"John...can I ask you something?" Jake asked.

John nodded. "Of course.

"How long have you been asleep?"

"That depends on the year."

"4000."

"Then...a good three hundred fifty-three years."

Jake's eyes grew wide, though Dirk's remained the same. 

"That's amazing!" Jake declared. "You've been in this temple for over three hundred years!"

"Puer live a long time," Dirk said. "Their life length is only second to moden lives."

Jake was beyond enraptured in this conversation at this point. "How long do moeden live?"

"We can live for a good six thousand years. It's nothing big, really."

"Then...how long do Puer live?"

"Without sleep like I experienced," John said, "they can live about four thousand years."

"So...how old are you?" Jake pondered further, hoping a small blush was not present on his cheeks.

"I'm young. Before sleep, I was only nine hundred."

Jake couldn't help his smile. "This is all so fantastic! There is so much that they don't teach us!"

"Of course not," Dirk muttered. "They want to keep us stupid...swine to be sacrificed."

"On eon hlasl ifcriesac nyoean nymoera," John promised. "Once I am ruling as Puer Heir, none will suffer again. This I swear."


End file.
